I've only dabbled in digital photography for a couple of years now, so I'm a rank amateur when it comes to what happens AFTER the photo is taken. Although I love much about digital and will never return to film, I definitely find post processing to be a real chore. I don't enjoy it at all.
I started out using Photoshop Elements and it was OK but I really had nothing to compare it to.
Since I switched from PC to Mac, I've just been using the editing capabilities of iPhoto.
I think I want to get either Aperture, Lightroom, or ACDSee Pro but frankly I am at a complete loss as to what would be best for me. One of my main concerns is that it be easy to use.
I'm looking for something that can handle my workflow from start to finish including downloading and organizing photos. Something that is quick and easy to use. I don't want a steep learning curve. I just don't have the time at this point in my life to dedicate very much time to post processing much less learning to use something as complex as CS3.
Right now I'm leaning toward Aperture or ACDSee.
Looking for opinions on both of these. ACDSee is cheaper which is a plus, but I don't know if it may have a downside that I'm not aware of.
Maybe there is something else that I should be considering. I'm really open to all suggestions.
Thanks.
Good point invalid2. iPhoto 08 is a great program for basic users. It could not be more simple.
If you need to step it up the the next level, Lightroom gets my vote. I have a mac pro with 5gig of ram. Aperture is SLOW and has too many feature that I will never use. Lightroom is FAST and lets me focus on photography. I almost feel foolish for buying CS3. I rarely use it any more.
invalid2 wrote:
What do you want the new software to do that iphoto does not do for you?
That's a good question. Maybe iPhoto is good enough for my use. It just seems that almost no one (who is serious about photography) uses it, so I assumed that it was not very good.
As far as I know (remember, I know very little about PP) all I want is to be able to adjust white balance, exposure, contrast, saturation, highlights and shadows. iPhoto allows me to do that but I've seen people post here and other places that only make those adjustments and they always use a program other than iPhoto.
One major shortcoming with iPhoto that comes to mind is that I can't zoom in when adjusting sharpness to really see what the results are. Is there a way to zoom in with iPhoto?
tomrock wrote:
I think I can help you eliminate one of the three -- they don't make ACDSee for the Mac.
Between LR and Aperture (I have both) I much prefer LR not only because it's faster and easier, but also for the quality of conversions.
Hmmm...I never noticed that ACDSee didn't have a Mac version.
Is there a Lightroom tutorial available online somewhere?
Go with lightroom. You'll especially benefit from the various presets available for lightroom. It'll save you a load of time postprocessing and will also give a good starting point to individually tweak your images if you want to.
Ok, so I will be the smuck to suggest Aperture. I love it. I ran LR during Beta and did not like it at all. For doing portrait work I find Aperture is great and fast. I am using it on both an IMac 2.33 with the upgraded video and 3gb ram. I find it really fast. I also run it on my Macbook Pro.
For weddings I use DX0 to do most of my conversions to jpg which takes an initial 10 minutes to set up after import then I hit the run button and when I get back I have a folder full of corrected images.
I guess I'm smuck #2! I've used both Aperture and Lightroom. Each has it's strong and weak points. Overall, I prefer Aperture. Although I don't like the prints from either one. I usually do post in Aperture and export to PS CS3 for printing.
Both Aperture and Lightroom have fully functional trial software you can download and try. Try them both and see what works best for you.
Just as I expected, there is no clear consensus as to which is better, since better means different things to different people.
I'll probably have to trial both of them, but for those who have used both, could you list the pros and cons of each?
Be forewarned that there is a learning curve so "trying" the program can be a bit challenging. It ain't like you try it for an hour and then know what you want to do...
Hopefully this thread will continue and people will post specifically what it is they like and dislike about Aperture and Lightroom.
There is so much discussion about lenses and camera bodies, even tripods and camera bags, but not nearly as much about PP options in my opinion.
